This Canada Day weekend, Canadians will enjoy that which binds us together. We'll listen to First Nations drummers, French Canadian singers and down east squid jigger ditties and we'll end up washed with the subtle warmth of re-assuring Canadianism.
But quiet patriotism isn't good enough for Conservatives. They want cheerleader patriotism, with parades, fly bys and troops - celebrations based on the glory of Canadian war efforts.
They want to rewrite Canadian history into Canadian military history.
Conservatives have spent $28 million to focus us on the War of 1812, to finance initiatives from battle re-enactments to glitzy ad campaigns.
At the same time, they cut the budget of the National Library and Archives - historians who maintain an accurate record of Canadian history.
A new, Conservative "Citizenship Guide" presents a revisionist view of Canadian history. It doesn't mention unions, feminism, medicare, environmental issues, or unemployment, but it does mention war 55 times.
Conservatives want Canadians to see Canada as a nation born from war.
So does my hawkish colleague over there, even though he says it's just a desire that we know more about Canadian history.
But it's not the La Verendrye, Winnipeg Strike, women's suffrage kind of history they're pushing - they just want to edify wars and battles.
Conservatives think that by celebrating past military glory we'll achieve a nationalistic cohesion they perceive to be missing in Canada.
But they're dead wrong. Canadian cohesion is already there and it doesn't originate from rabid reverence for military glory. In fact, it's just the opposite.
Canada was formed without bloodshed. We separated from England amicably. We didn't massacre our aboriginal people or vanquish French Canadians. We don't start wars and we've avoided some others. Canada has steadfastly supported international organizations and we pioneered international peacekeeping. We're a peaceful bunch.
That's what Canadians will be celebrating on Canada Day and that's what Canadian history should reflect.
History is a subjective interpretation of complex events. Historians should write history, not governments. Historians ask questions about history, governments push answers.
Have a peaceful Canada Day.
